Tutorials

Sunday, February 21, 2010

Baby Carriage (Large) Tutorial

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Oh Boy, this is my first ever tutorial and can I just say this was quite tricky for me as I dont work well with instructions and measurements etc. I just kind of work it out as I go along (a bit like the way my dad cooks really!) Still his recipes always turn out fantastic so hopefully this will pass too.

I know a lot of you have been really keen to give this carriage a go so I really wanted to get something in the way of a tutorial on here for you as quick as I could. I apologise for the quality of the photos. I started working on it this afternoon but then we had people come to inspect the house (we have our house up for sale at the moment) and then dinner got in the way and had to put the boys to bed etc etc so in the end it was dark and the quality of the photos went down hill.

First of all a photo of the finished product (just so you know no matter how rough the instructions, it does work out in the end!)

Here is a list of materials I used:

2 x A4 sheets Rose Red cardstock - Stampin Up
1 x A4 sheet Cameo Coral cardstock - Stampin Up
1 x sheet designer paper from Rasberry Tart series - Stampin Up
1 metre Very Vanilla Grosgrain Ribbon 6.35mm (1/4") - Stampin Up
Double sided tape or snail adhesive
Eyelet Border punch - Stampin Up
Circle Cutter - ( I'm not lucky enough to have a circle cutter so my circles have been traced from objects and cut out by hand hence the odd measurements. but it really wont matter too much at all if you use circles that are near enough to the size I use.)

2 strips of Rose Red Cardstock measuring the long length of an A4 sheet 29.6cm x 10cm (11.7" x 3.9") now this turns out to be a bit wasteful as it doesn't really need to be this long but I do it this way because when I join them together (as you will see in a bit) I want the join to be underneath the carriage where it wont be visible. You will probably find a better way to do this next time you make one.

I use a piece of cardstock to help me work out where to draw the lines on the 14cm (5 1/2") Rose Red circles to show where I need to cut them.

Use your first circle as a template for your second one so that you end up with two exactly the same.

Use a white gel pen to mark a small arrow near the centre of the circle to indicate the sides that will be on the outside of the carriage and also to point to which way is up.

Place 13cm (5.1") designer paper circle over the larger Rose Red circle and using a white gel pen place a mark on the designer paper just in a little from the cut edges of the Rose Red circle to indicate where to cut the designer paper so as to leave an even border of Rose Red all the way around the designer paper.

Now place the Rose Red circle over the top of the designer paper circle with the outside side of the circle facing up. Line the cut edges of the Rose Red circle up with the white marks you made on the designer paper to creat a guide to draw the lines to show you where to cut.

once you cut the wedge out of the designer paper adhere it with double sided tape or snail adhesive to the Rose Red circle on the side with the little white arrow on it.

Do the same for the other set of Rose Red and designer paper circles to create the other side of the carriage.

Now using double sided tape or snail adhesive layer the three different sized smaller circles for the wheels so that you end up with four wheels that look like this.

You can now also adhere the 18cm x 1cm (7.1" x .4") strip of designer paper to the 18cm x 1.5cm (7.1" x .6") strip of Rose Red cardstock as seen above. This will be the handle of the carriage.

now with double sided tape or snail adhesive attach two wheels to each side of the carriage as shown below.

I find it helpful to do one side first and then place the second side over the top right sides facing out so that I can line the wheels up exactly.

Next you will need to work with the two large rectangles of Rose Red cardstock.

Now this is where my tutorial needs some fine tuning. It gets a bit confusing but bare with me I will try to make it clear.

these two pieces are used to join the sides of the carriage together to give it it's 3D shape. But one rectangle is not long enough to go all the way around the side of the carriage so you need to join the two rectangles together to make a longer length. But before you do that you will need to reduce the length of one of the rectangles to 21cm (8.3").

I know I know, I should have just instructed you to cut it that way in the beginning but it wasn't until I was part way through making this carriage that I realised that it would mean that the join would be hidden underneath the carriage if I did it this way.

you will need to score along both long sides of both of the rectangles at 1cm (.4") then join the two rectangles together with a thin strip of double sided tape or snail adhesive to make one long length.

now run some adhesive tape along the scored edges making sure you start at the end that was the shorter rectangle, this will ensure that the join ends up hidden underneath the carriage.

You will notice that the tape does not go the whole length of the strip of cardstock. This is because the strip is longer than you will need. I choose not to cut it down before adhering it to the sides of the carriage because I got caught the first time I made one and cut it just a fraction too short and it ruined the whole thing and I had to start again. So now I cut it after as you will see in a little while.

Now peel the backing paper off the double sided tape and make little cuts all along the long edges as show in the photo below.

Now we get to the fun part where you get to start putting it all together!

Start by placing one side of the carriage at the end of the rectangle lining it up carefully. Slowly start to stick the rectangle to the side of the carriage following the curve as you go.

Now repeat on the other side

now you can cut off the excess. I know it is a terrible waste but I'm sure you crafty's out there will be able to fine tune this part of the process better than me the next time you go to make one of these. This is only the third one of these that I have made so I am still figuring it out as I go along.

To add the eyelet border edge to the hood of the carriage run a strip of double sided tape along the edge as shown.

Then adhere it just inside the edge of the hood as shown.

Almost finished now!

Put a little double sided tape or snail adhesive on the ends of the final strip of cardstock.

And then adhere it to the carriage as shown.

Now tie your ribbon around the middle of the carriage and you are done!!

I know this has been a very long tutorial but I hope it hasn't been to difficult to follow. Please let me know how you go making your own carriages.

THANK YOU for this tutorial!! I've been trying to figure out how to make a baby carriage for my co-worker's baby shower. Was just going to do something one sided, but seriously wanted something 3-dimensional. I love your creativity!! Thanks again for sharing! Happy Sunday!!

Hi Michelle I just love these buggies. My husband scaled all the pieces for me and we made 6 different ones for centerpieces. Then he scaled a larger 24in high and 13in wide for card holder. It is so unique and sure to be hit at shower in February. It is so realistic looking and the only one that I could find that I like. Great instructions!! You are extremely talented.

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About Me

I am lucky enough to live in the beautiful tropics of Far North Queensland. My gorgeous Hubby and I have three great boys. I home school my eldest and as a way to relax and unwind I enjoy any type of crafting. Card making has been my thing for the last four or five years but now I'm looking for something different to kick start my creative Mojo again. So now I am learning to sew. I love that you have come to visit my little blog and I hope that you will leave a comment to say Hi so that I can come visit you too.